Yes. And the data exists to prove it. I have discussed this in a previous post but it applies here.
There is a great example in the book “Freakonomics” by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt. They data mine massively large databases and extract information using statistical methods. One of the case studies looks at online dating and what people want in a partner.
Dubner and Levitt looked at large, established dating sites (Match.com, Cupid. etc.) and collected data on ~75,000,000 matches (it might be 90 million) and whether they were “successful” or not. Did the participants rate the date successful? Did they go back to the fish pond for another try? Did they go on a second date?
In their profile, women said things like: “the most important characteristics in a man were things like: personality, sense of humor, likes walks in the park, etc.” Men said similar things. But when the data from 75 million dates were reviewed and correlated, the results were surprising. Answer this: For women, which factor had by far the strongest correlation for a successful match? The man’s income! Yep! Income. It was, by far, more important than weight, height, age, education, race…anything! “Walks in the park” were not even on the list.
For men, which factor do you think had the highest correlation to a successful date? The woman’s body weight. Next was income. They even figured out how much 10 pounds was worth in the woman’s income. (I think it was ~$20,000. Meaning the heavier woman had to earn $20K (It might be $10K, I don’t remember. If someone has the book please let us all know.) a year more than her thinner counterpart to get the same success rate. Hey, at least guys weren’t totally one dimensional!)
You might not like the answers but with data from ~75 million matches it is hard to argue against it. They present the data, list the sources, explain the analysis. You are welcome to draw your own conclusions.
Maybe income somewhat correlates to education, willingness to travel, wit, generosity, etc but those factors alone were not important. A man who was witty, generous, and educated, but with no income, would be hard pressed to get a date and have it be rated “successful”.
Does anyone believe Anna Nicole Smith married J. Howard Marshall for his sexual prowess?